County provides prescription aid

Saturday

Nov 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Gale Rose

Individuals needing assistance with paying for prescriptions have an option available through Pratt County.

Prescription discount cards are available though the county in conjunction with the National Association of Counties. The cards are free and available at the Pratt County Clerks office in the Pratt County Courthouse or by calling 1-800-877-321-2652 or go online to nacorx.org and print off a card directly from the website, said Alex Koroknay-Palicz, NACo membership coordinator.

The cards do not work with medication that is covered by insurance but for those that are uninsured or whose insurance doesn't cover everything the cards can provide a discount on most prescriptions.

On average, the cards save about 24 percent of the prescription costs but in a few cases it can be as high as 75 percent, Koroknay-Palicz said.

The cards are free to Pratt County residents. The county pays an annual membership due of $450 that is based on the population of the entire county.

Local pharmacies enter an agreement with NACo to participate in the program. The pharmacies at Dillons, Walmart and the Pratt Medical Arts Pharmacy are all participants in the program and will accept the cards, Koroknay-Palicz said.

The program has existed in Pratt County since 2005 and has saved residents $214,000 over the past eight years. On the average, about 50 people use the prescription card every month in the county.

Although it has been around for several years, many people have moved in and out of the county and may be unaware that the cards are available, Koroknay-Palicz said.

Pratt County is also considering joining the NACo health and dental programs. Unlike the prescription program, a fee is charged for the health and dental programs.

The monthly fee for an individual is $6.95 and $8.95 for a family. The yearly fee for an individual is $69 and $79 for a family.

"We try to make it as easy and simple and painless as possible," Koroknay-Palicz said.

The family fee is the same no matter the number of people in the family. It even covers visiting family members, Koroknay-Palicz said.

The health and dental cards are not available at the current time but the county is considering adding them to the program.

The National Association of Counties represents 2,300 county members across the county. Each member county pays membership dues based on county population.

The NACo lobbies for county interests in Washington D.C., they work against unfunded mandates and try to get fair funding for county programs.

The bulk of their funding comes from membership dues and they have various corporate partners. They are also involved with training programs, conferences and grant investments.